Benchmarking

CPU Benchmarks

Whenever one decides to start picking new hardware for a PC build, the most important deciding factor of everything in the build boils down to what CPU is chosen. Therefore it is generally a good idea to do your research with respect to what’s available,  and trying to get the most value for your money spent.

CPU benchmark sites can be a very valuable resource in the deciding the right processor for your PC build. Generally when a hardware site presents a new set of benchmarks for a particular set of CPUs, they use the exact same combinations of hardware, as well as software and then compare the end results compiled into charts and graphs. This can be very valuable information when deciding between which CPUs to choose, however it may not be all that reliable as say testing many of the same CPUs with different combinations of hardware.

There is a CPU benchmark site powered by PassMark Software located at http://www.cpubenchmark.net/ that I believe to be very reliable as it takes user submitted information from a downloadable PerformanceTest that runs eight different tests including an Integer Maths Test, Compression Test, Prime Number Test, Encryption Test, Floating Point Math Test, SSE/3D Now Test, Image Rotation Test, and String Sorting Test that are averaged into a CPU Mark rating. The tests specifics can be found here. The site does warn against the accuracy of all the graphs on their site representing CPU benchmarks as there are many factors such as different OS’s, or the potential that users could have overclocked their systems which would skew test results.

The PassMark Software CPU benchmark site is updated daily, and organizes the compiled information based on the CPU Mark rating into charts such as a “High End CPU Chart”, “Low End CPU Chart”, “Common CPU Chat” and so on. So next time when your debating which processor to purchase take a look http://www.cpubenchmark.net/ and compare every processor purchasable. Every processor listed in the charts has an included link, as well a pretty accurate price given in USD.

Video Card Benchmarks

Passmark Software does not just include a CPU benchmark site, but a Video Card one located at http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/. Similarly to the CPU benchmarks, all the information is mostly user submitted from their own systems using the sites downloadable PerformanceTest. The included information in the Video Card Benchmark charts however is not quite as dynamic as the CPU ones. There is no included links to constituent sites along with the average card prices, so price comparison is not quite as easy as with the CPUs. The Video Card information compiled to create a PassMark 3D Mark rating averages the combination of a Simple Test, Medium Test, and Complex test which include different levels of Obejcts, Display Modes, and various other graphical content. The specific details can be found here.

Hard Drive and System Benchmarks

Hard Drive and System Benchmarks are done the same way as the previous CPU and Video Card Benchmarks. These sites can be found respectfully at http://www.harddrivebenchmark.net/ and http://www.passmark.com/baselines/index.php.

Information collected for the Hard Drive benchmarks uses a PassMark Disk Mark rating system which includes information from a Disk Sequential Read, Disk Sequential Write, and a Disk Random Seek RW. The specific information can be found here.

Information collected for ranking specific Computer Systems is called the PassMark Rating which is collected by running the full suite from the PassMark Software PerformanceTest. This includes six test suites, and twenty eight unique tests.

So next time you are researching what CPU, Video Card, or Hard Drive to purchase for your new PC build, I would highly recommend a site like this PassMark one as it averages a quoted 350 000 plus systems. In my opinion an average of 350 000 plus systems produces valid results; at least statistically. If you know of any other great benchmark websites or resources please let me know, as I am always looking to know where to find the best of the best.

Best of Luck!

Corey